Cabinet jibs at £10,000 empty homes survey

A recommendation from chief executive Derek Stevens to Monday's cabinet to spend 10,000 on a year-long survey by Brighton and Hove Council came under close questioning.

A half-hour debate ended with Cllr Robin Patten successfully proposing an amendment to send the issue back to the improvement and resources sub-committee to define what value for money the 10,000 would represent.

Head of housing Anne Fennessy said 571 home-owners currently had homes in Rother which had been unoccupied for more than six months.

She said the research would show why so many were empty, how they could be brought back into use and how they could provide accommodation for the homeless.

Cllr Keith Standring said the figures were quite staggering.

Information was needed about why so many properties were standing idle.

Cllr Deirdre Williams said there could be many reasons why a property was empty. It might be a second home. The owners might be spending six months abroad.

"If you are paying Council Tax on a home it is your business what you do with it."

She thought the wording of the report '“ that with the information available Rother might be able to help home-owners '“ was "patronising."

Anne Fennessy said the figure of 571 homes excluded second holiday and second homes.

Referring to the possibility of rental, she said: "We have the ability to help them acquire a regular income of 600-800 a month..."

She told Cllr Brian Kentfield that her department did not have the resources to write to everyone concerned.

Director of services Tony Leonard said that if the department's resources were put into responding to home-owners its other services would suffer.

Cllr Kentfield countered: "One thing doesn't ring true.

"You are saying 'We don't know who they are' but they are paying Council Tax."

Anne Fennessy said: "If we write to all the home-owners we will have to visit every owner. There is a significant amount of work to be done."

To help owners do something about their properties there had to be a detailed level of inquiry.

She said 571 was a significant number of homes. "So something is definitely happening in our area..."

Cllr Williams said: "Five hundred and seventy one homes? I still think that is a ludicrous figure. I am perfectly sure that if we sent letters we would not be inundated with replies."

Anne Fennessy said: "It makes no sense to me that anyone would keep a home empty and pay Council Tax on it."

She had driven round Bexhill and seen properties that had evidently been empty for some time.

"It doesn't make any sense at all....."

Cllr Patten said rather than spend 10,000 on a year-long survey why didn't the department do a random sample '“ 10 homes in Bexhill, 10 in eastern Rother and 10 in northern Rother?

"I get worried when we have consultants coming in from outside when we could do better because we are in touch with the district and we know our field."

Tony Leonard said: "I accept what you are saying but we have very limited resources and we have higher priorities than this.

"I am very aware that it is not quite as simple as it has been painted."

The programme to reduce the number of vacant flats over shops some years ago had demonstrated the complexities.

Cllr Patten responded: "I hear what you are saying and as usual what you are saying makes sense.

"If resources are as limited as you say perhaps there are more important things to do which we should be doing as priorities rather than getting involved in this very worthy exercise which will put even more pressure on resources."